BA English and Irish

Academic Year 2017/18

A programme specification is required for any programme on which a student may be registered. All programmes of the University are subject to the University's Quality Assurance and Enhancement processes as set out in the DASA Policies and Procedures Manual.

Programme Title

BA English and Irish

Final Award
(exit route if applicable for Postgraduate Taught Programmes)

Bachelor of Arts

Programme Code

ENG-BA-JS

UCAS Code

QQ53

JACS Code

Q300 (DESCR) 50

Criteria for Admissions

The programme entry requirement is ABB at ‘A’ Level or equivalent including English and Irish; the A can be in either English or Irish. ‘AS’ Level English grade A and ‘AS’ Level Irish grade B would be acceptable in lieu of ‘A’ Level. Level 1 Irish is also available at intermediate or beginners’ level.
International candidates require at least a British Council IELTS qualification of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component.

REGULATION INFORMATION

Does the Programme have any approved exemptions from the University General Regulations (Please see General Regulations)

N/A

Programme Specific Regulations

Each level requires 60 CATS in English and 60 CATS in Irish. After completing Levels 1 and 2 students complete six weeks in the Gaeltacht before progressing to Level 3.

Unless exempted by the Head of School on the basis of prior learning or exceptional personal/medical circumstances, students are normally required to attend a total of six weeks in the Gaeltacht in Ireland at an approved place of residence.
Transferring from Single to Joint Honours:
On completing Level 1 a Single Honours student in either of English or Irish who has completed 40 CATS at Level 1 in the other subject and has achieved an average mark across the 40 CATS of 60 or above may be admitted to this Joint Honours Programme subject to having obtained the approval of the Adviser of Studies in the subject in which they have only 40 CATS.

Students with protected characteristics

The School work with placement providers and partner institutions to ensure that students with disabilities are able to complete residence requirements.

Are students subject to Fitness to Practise Regulations

(Please see General Regulations)

No

EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF PROGRAMME

The Joint Programme in English and Irish is designed to provide students with:

• an intellectual training in the separate and overlapping disciplines of English and Irish which, while discrete subjects, are also complementary and mutually enriching;

• advanced linguistic skills, which are informed by general language awareness, intercultural competence and high levels of critical thinking;

• a discipline-specific perspective from which students acquire knowledge and understanding of the inter-relationship between texts and contexts, a familiarity with debates surrounding culture and identity, both individual and communal, and skills in synthesising and developing ideas and arguments from diverse literary and other contemporary sources;

• a range of skills which together foster the ability to practise self-motivated learning and increase the capacity to undertake independent learning in a progressive way.

Together, these subjects together equip individuals with the ability to:

• think critically, process and understand complex information;

• evaluate primary and secondary sources;

• interpret a variety of types of data and information;

• pursue independent learning;

• work well in groups and formulate arguments.

Furthermore, students benefit from a multi-disciplinary education which gives them a large skill set and opens a wide range of career options following graduation.

More generally, the Joint Programme in English and Irish aims to:

• attract students from local, national, and international contexts, through a variety of entry routes, and then provide and deliver the best possible learning and teaching experience, in an environment of equality, tolerance, and mutual respect;

• provide students with the necessary intellectual, practical, and key skills to enable them to develop as independent, reflective lifelong learners and able employees;

• develop a broad context for future employment, in which graduates appreciate the continuing value of an education in these two disciplines.

The curricula will be delivered in accordance with the separate national English and Languages and Related Studies benchmarking statements, which reflect the chronological, cultural, and generic diversity of English and Irish literary and language studies and which will take advantage of a variety of critical and pedagogical approaches. The programme will thereby foster an atmosphere of intellectual inquiry in each discipline, by offering modules which encourage a stimulating interchange of ideas.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes: Cognitive Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

exercise sound, reasoned judgment;

recognise and appreciate the varying effects of different literary and linguistic forms of expression;

respond to, and differentiate between, different ideological and theoretical positions;

appreciate a variety of textual and cultural perspectives on academic enquiry;

analyse and interpret material from different geographical, cultural, and temporal contexts
think independently, originally, and self-reflexively;

demonstrate a capacity for critical reflection and judgment in the light of evidence and argument;

discriminate between substantive and peripheral concerns in their understanding of literary and linguistic issues;

identify, collate and organise relevant data and information from a variety of primary and secondary sources in support of their argument;

Seminars offer a variety of tutor-led and student-led learning opportunities as well as a more sustained opportunity to debate and evaluate a breadth of knowledge gained independently from directed reading and from the sharing of resources and information.

Group presentations encourage students to pursue their own interests, collaborate with peers, negotiate the demands of teamwork and develop their understanding of a topic.

Through class discussions, sometimes assigned to pairs or sub-groups, students develop a comparative understanding of different approaches to material and the ability to formulate their own arguments and responses.

Student-centred learning situations encourage the ability to present and summarise knowledge to peers in a coherent, structured form, and to further enhance organisational and inter-personal skills.

Writing skills tutorials and lectures develop essay-writing on stylistic, structural, rhetorical and bibliographical levels. The ability to collate and obtain information is developed through introductory training in the use of libraries and online resources.

In all modules, students are encouraged to refer to current critical and theoretical debate in order to form their own judgement of the text or data in question. They work towards a number of deadlines for formative and summative work, and for class presentation, thereby learning to prioritise assignments and objectives, and in doing so hone their time-management skills.

Methods of Assessment

Examinations and essays require that students demonstrate coverage of material, appropriate methods of analysis, the ability to discriminate between arguments, and the ability to form an independent argument.

Written exams help students gain a knowledge of a topic that can be readily and directly applied to a set problem or question, and also test their ability to select relevant information and to write clearly and concisely within a set time.

Group presentations encourage students to pursue their own interests and develop their understanding of a topic.

Extended essays test their ability to order and shape information, and to recognise ways in which to present and prioritise material.

Dissertation work (for students taking ENG3000 or ENL3000) is a programme of independent study agreed between student and supervisor, leading to the writing and submission of an extended essay (thesis).

Feedback is provided for each type and instance of assessment and students may seek dedicated feedback sessions with course tutors.

The Personal Tutor system facilitates student reflection upon academic performance and assists in developing strategies for improvement.

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge & Understanding

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

understand the key concepts that are used to undertake literary, textual and historical analysis;

display a broad knowledge of a range of periods in literary history, including literature before 1660, and an understanding of the social and political contexts in which texts are both written and read;

understand the rhetorical, stylistic and aesthetic strategies of the different genres of prose fiction, drama and poetry;

address major themes in the history of society and culture as well as theoretical approaches to literature and language, and moving images;

display familiarity with a range of theoretical approaches to literature and language, and with the key critical debates that form and inform the disciplines themselves;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Knowledge and understanding are developed through lectures, tutorials, seminars (many of which will be enhanced by learning aids such as hand-outs, and key readings available online through Queen’s Online) and through the assessment and feedback process.

Lectures and tutorials together provide knowledge and the opportunity to discuss, evaluate and apply that knowledge to texts.

Seminars offer the more sustained opportunity to debate and evaluate a breadth of knowledge gained independently from directed reading and from the sharing of resources and information.

Extensive background reading is required throughout the pathway, developing students’ specialist knowledge of particular genres and periods of literature in addition to a broad base of knowledge about literary history.

Methods of Assessment

A range of assessment methods ensures that these skills are evaluated in different ways.
Formative written work assists the development of understanding, critical judgment, and independent thought, both through the feedback given, and through the process of writing itself.

Examinations, essays and seminar presentations and language project work require that students demonstrate coverage of material, appropriate methods of textual and linguistic analysis, the ability to discriminate between arguments, and the ability to form an independent argument.

exhibit a detailed knowledge of spoken and written forms of Irish (including register and dialect);

critically understand Modern Irish literature and show a knowledge of key aspects of contemporary Irish-language culture including sociolinguistics, institutions, discourses, and historical background;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Language classes enable the development of grammatical accuracy, range of vocabulary and idiom, awareness of register, and fluency in Irish. Language exercises may include comprehension, résumé, essay, prose and translation.

Oral classes in small groups develop spoken-language skills.
The period of residence in the Gaeltacht allows students to improve their linguistic ability and their knowledge of the Irish language.

Methods of Assessment

Students complete a series of written exercises per semester. Individual feedback on these assignments enables students, with the help and guidance of the tutor, to address areas of difficulty and thus develop their linguistic knowledge and understanding.

Language examinations test students’ ability to translate into and from the target language, textual comprehension and their ability to formulate and structure arguments in the target language.

Oral examinations enable students to demonstrate their ability to analyse, present material and pursue high-level discussion in the target language.

understand the role of the Irish language in contemporary Irish society and identity;

display an advanced understanding of how Irish culture uses language to express, communicate and develop its identity and interests;

demonstrate knowledge of historical forms of the language and earlier phases of Gaelic literature.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures and tutorials together provide knowledge and the opportunity to discuss, evaluate and apply that knowledge to texts and real world contexts. They also provide specific contextual and theoretical information as well as offering practical examples of different critical approaches.

Seminars offer a variety of tutor-led and student-led learning opportunities as well as a more sustained opportunity to debate and evaluate a breadth of knowledge gained independently from directed reading and from the sharing of resources and information.

Through class discussions, sometimes assigned to pairs or sub-groups, students develop a comparative understanding of different approaches to material and the ability to formulate their own arguments and responses.

The period of residence in the Gaeltacht allows students to improve their linguistic ability and their knowledge of the Irish language.

Methods of Assessment

Examinations and essays require that students demonstrate coverage of material, appropriate methods of analysis, the ability to discriminate between arguments, and the ability to form an independent argument.

Written exams help students gain a knowledge of a topic that can be readily and directly applied to a set problem or question, and also test their ability to select relevant information and to write clearly and concisely within a set time.

Group presentations are used to encourage students to pursue their own interests and develop their understanding of a topic.

During the period of residence abroad, students complete a learning journal and a reflective report, in which they document and analyse their insights into the Target Language culture.

Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

read texts with a developed awareness and appreciation of their formal, structural and generic properties;

assess critical interpretations of the ways in which different cultural and historical contexts inform the reading and writing of texts;

analyse the forms, function, and development of language;

utilise a critical vocabulary and engage with different critical perspectives in the analysis of texts;

be aware of key debates concerning the development of the discipline of literary criticism;

carry out various forms of research for essays, projects, and/or dissertations involving sustained independent enquiry;

formulate appropriate research questions and employ appropriate methods and resources for exploring those questions;

select and utilise primary quotation and secondary critical material in the formulation of an argument;
display familiarity with bibliographic convention and should be able to research, reference and present written work according to the requirements of the subject area;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures provide specific contextual and theoretical information as well as offering practical examples of different critical approaches.

Tutorials and seminars allow for close reading of texts in a group situation, while developing students’ ability to formulate their own arguments and responses.

Formative work – both written and oral – enables students to combine the knowledge and skills developed through lectures and tutorials, and to formulate, and receive feedback on, their own independent arguments.

Student-centred learning situations encourage the ability to present and summarise knowledge to peers in a coherent, structured form, and to further enhance organisational and inter-personal skills.

Module and programme information and style sheets guide students in their choice of, access to, and citation of relevant secondary materials.

Methods of Assessment

Assessment methods vary in accordance with the specific learning outcomes of particular modules as detailed below or in the English Handbook.

Formative written work assists the development of understanding, critical judgment, and independent thought, both through the feedback given, and through the process of writing itself. Analytical, discursive, interpretive and critical exercises – both formative and summative – test students’ ability to engage with, analyse, contextualise, interpret and criticise relevant material.

All assessment methods, whether the dissertation, essays or oral presentations, aural tests or examinations, require students to demonstrate the English subject skills which are detailed in the English and Languages Handbook (see Marking Criteria and the Assessment and Feedback Policy).

communicate fluently and effectively with native Irish speakers in both oral and written contexts;

demonstrate a high level of understanding of oral and written forms of Irish;

deploy an appropriate range of vocabulary, structures and registers;

describe and analyse main grammatical features of Irish, and to draw on a wide variety of resources to refine and improve their knowledge and understanding of the language;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Through the wide variety of exercises used in written- and spoken-language classes (presentations, debate, résumé, essay, comprehension, grammar tests, prose, translation), a whole range of language skills is developed and assessed. These include: knowledge and understanding of vocabulary, and of the structures and registers of language; translation skills; the structuring and development of arguments in Irish; fluency and idiom; summary and synthesising skills; planning and composing oral presentations/exposés. Grammatical knowledge is under constant review, and explanation, description and analysis of grammar forms an important part of language classes.

Methods of Assessment

Students complete a series of written exercises per semester. Individual feedback on these assignments enables students, with the help and guidance of the tutor, to address areas of difficulty and thus develop their linguistic knowledge and understanding.

Language examinations test students’ ability to translate into and from the target language, textual comprehension and their ability to formulate and structure arguments in the target language.

Oral examinations enable students to demonstrate their ability to analyse, present material and pursue high-level discussion in the target language.

understand, evaluate and analyse a wide variety of texts and ideas from and about the Irish language;

synthesise ideas and develop arguments in Irish and English drawing from a wide range of diverse sources;

develop independent insight into central features of Irish language and culture, and to appreciate and engage with a culture other than their own.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

In the course of their programme, students have the opportunity to study literary, linguistic, historical, visual or cultural topics.

Lectures and seminars together provide knowledge and the opportunity to discuss, evaluate and apply that knowledge to texts and real world contexts. They also provide specific contextual and theoretical information as well as offering practical examples of different critical approaches.

Seminars offer a variety of tutor-led and student-led learning opportunities as well as a more sustained opportunity to debate and evaluate a breadth of knowledge gained independently from directed reading and from the sharing of resources and information.

Students are encouraged to develop their own responses to Irish culture, particularly by means of the time spent in the Gaeltacht.

Methods of Assessment

Examinations and essays require that students demonstrate coverage of material, appropriate methods of analysis, the ability to discriminate between arguments, and the ability to form an independent argument.

Written exams help students gain a knowledge of a topic that can be readily and directly applied to a set problem or question, and also test their ability to select relevant information and to write clearly and concisely within a set time.

Group presentations are used to encourage students to pursue their own interests and develop their understanding of a topic.

During the period of residence abroad, students complete a learning journal and a reflective report, in which they document and analyse their insights into the Target Language culture.

Learning Outcomes: Transferable Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

manage time efficiently and effectively;

demonstrate basic word-processing and IT skills;

collate and process information from a variety of sources;

use libraries and online resources;

respond positively and productively to feedback on work;

think both creatively and maturely in diverse intellectual situations;

use their knowledge in cogent, communicable ways to present arguments and clarify complex issues in both oral and written forms;

display interpersonal skills and the ability to work productively in a group context;

demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Student preparation for seminars requires them to read a variety of material and discuss this with their peers and the tutor. They may make individual or group presentations analysing the material in class.

Class presentations and student interaction hone communication and rhetorical skills. Student centred learning situations encourage and test the ability to present and summarise knowledge to their peers in a coherent, structured form, and inter-personal skills are developed in seminars and tutorials.

Seminar preparation, research for presentations.

Methods of Assessment

Examinations and essays require that students demonstrate appropriate methods of analysis, the ability to discriminate between arguments and evaluate information, and the ability to form a cogent, independent argument.

Written exams test students’ ability to select relevant information and to write clearly and concisely within a set time. With coursework essays, students are required to adhere to strict deadlines.

Individual and group presentations.

take notes and summarise accurately and effectively;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, seminars.

Methods of Assessment

Examinations and essays require that students demonstrate appropriate methods of analysis, the ability to discriminate between arguments and evaluate information, and the ability to form a cogent, independent argument.

Written exams test students’ ability to select relevant information and to write clearly and concisely within a set time. With coursework essays, students are required to adhere to strict deadlines.

understand the role and use of feedback in assessing and improving performance;

respond constructively to criticism.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Students receive feedback on their formative and summative work and may seek further feedback in one-to-one meetings with tutors.

Engagement with Personal Tutors promotes student reflection upon academic performance. Personal Tutors also discuss career options with students; and the Schools work closely with the Careers Liaison Officer to present students with information on possible careers.

Methods of Assessment

Feedback (on Queen’s Online, on draft materials, or in class) provides students with an ongoing feedback experience throughout their degree.

Each student is allocated a Personal Tutor in stage 1 and meets with him/her throughout the duration of the degree programme.

MODULE INFORMATION

Programme Requirements

Module Title

Module Code

Level/ stage

Credits

Availability

Duration

Pre-requisite

Assessment

S1

S2

Core

Option

Coursework %

Practical %

Examination %

English in Transition

ENG1001

1

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Mapping the Anglo-Saxon World

ENG2003

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

English in Context

ENG1002

1

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Shakespeare on Screen

ENG3087

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Foundations for Speech Analysis: The Phonetics of English

ENL2001

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

50%

30%

20%

Speech Worlds: Phonology in Acquisition and Disorder

ENL3003

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Introduction to American Writing

ENG2072

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Language and Power

ENL2002

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

80%

0%

20%

History of English: Studying Language Change

ENL2004

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Late Medieval Literature

ENG2040

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Eighteenth-Century and Romantic Literature

ENG2062

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Scottish Gaelic Language 1

CEL2017

2

20

YES

12 weeks

Y

YES

100%

0%

0%

Introduction to Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama

ENG2050

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Literature and Society, 1850-1930

ENG2070

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Irish Literature

ENG2081

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Televising the Victorians

ENG3069

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Literature and Science in the Nineteenth Century: Evolution, Degeneration, and the Mind

ENG3097

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Double Dissertation English Literature

ENG3000

3

40

24 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Introduction to English Language

ENL1001

1

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Contemporary US Crime Fiction: the Police, the State, the Globe

ENH3008

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Comic Fiction, Fielding to Austen (1740-1820)

ENH3013

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Marvels, Monsters and Miracles in Anglo-Saxon England

ENG3011

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Renaissance Performance, Gender, Space

ENG3181

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Film and Narrative

CEL3025

3

20

YES

12 weeks

Y

YES

100%

0%

0%

Irish Folklore

CEL1004

1

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

30%

70%

0%

Contemporary Irish and Scottish Fiction Devolutionary Identities

ENG3060

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Broadcasting and Identity

ENL3002

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Picturing America: Shaping the States in Word and Image

ENG3061

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

The Irish Poetic Tradition 1650-1850

CEL2024

2

20

YES

12 weeks

Y

YES

100%

0%

0%

Irish Writing and the Short Story

CEL2026

2

20

YES

12 weeks

Y

YES

100%

0%

0%

The Structure of English

ENL3110

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Digital textualities and the History of the Book

ENG3178

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Modern Irish Poetry

CEL3026

3

20

YES

12 weeks

Y

YES

100%

0%

0%

Representing the Working Class

ENG3064

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Writing New York, 1880-1940

ENG3183

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Contemporary Literature: Poetry and Precariousness in the Twenty-First Century

ENG3184

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Gaeilge 1

CEL1101

1

40

24 weeks

N

YES

45%

20%

35%

Gaeilge 2

CEL2101

2

40

24 weeks

Y

YES

45%

20%

35%

Gaeilge 3

CEL3101

3

40

24 weeks

Y

YES

45%

20%

35%

Irish Gothic

ENG3330

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Stevens & Bishop

ENG3333

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Writing Africa: The Colonial Past to Colonial Present

ENG3185

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Knowledge, Power and Imagination: Writing the East, 1662-1835

ENG3186

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Stylistics: Analysing Style in Language

ENL3011

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

An Introduction to Modern Irish Literature

CEL1006

1

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Dúchas na Gaeilge: Skills in Irish Translation

CEL2028

2

20

YES

12 weeks

Y

YES

100%

0%

0%

An Introduction to Critical and Cultural Theory

ENG2000

2

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Discourses of Crime

ENL3111

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

70%

30%

0%

3

20

YES

12 weeks

N

YES

100%

0%

0%

Notes

Level 1
In English, students must also take ENG/ENL modules worth 60 CATS. In Irish, students must take CEL modules worth 60 CATS .

Level 2
In English, students take ENG/ENL modules worth 60 CATS. In Irish, students must take CEL modules worth 60 CATS.

Level 3
In English, students must take ENG/ENH/ENL modules worth 60 CATS. In Irish, students must take CEL modules worth 60 CATS.

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